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cassave

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Etymology and origin of the French word cassave

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1529 J. and R. Parmentier, voyage to the East Indies More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Spanish cazabe
Ultimate origin
Taíno caçabi
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Spanish cazabe
English cassava
French cassave

Forms

cassave f[1][2] 16th-century cassade (1529), caçave (1588), cazabi and caçabi.[1][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish cazabi (now spelled ⟨cazabe⟩), recorded in Spanish from 1492, in Columbus as ⟨cazavi⟩.[1][2][4] The Spanish word is from Taíno caçabi, from the Arawakan language of Haiti.[1][5][3] The 1529 form cassade is probably due to the suffix -ade.[1] According to the TLFi, the word spread through the mixed speech of Carib and Spanish used by the people of the Lesser Antilles;[1] the Wiktionnaire derives it from Guadeloupean Creole instead.[6] English cassava (1560s) comes from the French, Spanish or Portuguese word.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is cassade in 1529, in the account of the Parmentier brothers' voyage, of a flat cake made from manioc starch in Colombia.[1] In 1588 caçave meant the manioc root itself, in a passage on Haiti, and the spelling cassave appears in 1599, again for the cake.[1]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word named both the manioc root and, by metonymy, the starch extracted from it and the flat bread baked from that starch.[1] Today it is chiefly the cake of manioc flour.[2][7][8] The Académie recorded it from 1762 to 1878.[1]

Timeline

  • 1492 – Spanish cazavi is recorded in Columbus.[1]
  • 1529 – Cassade, of a manioc cake in Colombia.[1]
  • 1560s – English cassava is recorded.[5]
  • 1588 – Caçave names the manioc root, in a translation of Mendoza.[1]
  • 1599 – The spelling cassave appears, of the cake, in an account of a Lesser Antilles island.[1]
  • 1762 – The Académie records the word.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A flat cake or bread of manioc flour.[2][7][8]
  2. The starch extracted from the manioc root; also the root itself.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  2. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 20, 62b
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cassave.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/cassave. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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